AMES, Iowa – It was a tale of two different Cyclone (15-15, 5-3 Big 12) squads Friday afternoon, as a sharp ISU defense and offense held on to beat Arizona State (24-11, 6-5 Big 12) 4-3 in the series-opener, but a sloppy Iowa State defense and an ASU offensive barrage helped ASU take game two, 18-4.

Timely hitting and solid defense from the Cyclones helped lead to the 4-3 win in the home-opener, as Lauren Schurman (6-9) picked up the win. Angelina Allen led all Cyclones with a pair of hits as ISU earned a win against Sun Devil ace Kenzie Brown.

ASU jumped out to a quick 8-1 lead in the second game, as three ISU errors in the first two frames resulted in eight unearned runs. Allen was a bright spot for the Cyclones, as the senior went 3-3 to lead all batters.

Iowa State ran its win streak to four Friday afternoon, winning its fourth conference game in a row over Arizona State in the Sun Devils’ first-ever game in Iowa. The Cyclones earned a home-opening win for the second consecutive season with the victory.

Isabelle Nosan proved to be the difference for the Cyclones, as the sophomore’s two-RBI double in the fifth inning proved to be just enough, plating runs three and four for ISU. Allen was the lone Cyclone with multiple hits, while Karlee Ford collected her first collegiate hit with a double.

Sami Potvin got the start in the circle, hurling three frames and allowing two runs on a pair of hits. Jaiden Ralston threw an inning and a third before Lauren Schurman (6-9) came in to earn the win, allowing one unearned run on four hits. ASU pitcher Kenzie Brown recorded 12 strikeouts.

How it Happened
After ASU stranded a pair in the top of the first, Iowa State displayed clutch two-out hitting in the bottom of the frame to score the game’s first run. After back-to-back strikeouts led things off, Allen singled up the middle before advancing to second on a wild pitch. A Tatum Johnson bloop single into left would plate Allen and give ISU the lead.

Arizona State responded to ISU’s run with two of their own in the second, placing runners on the corners with one out. A Takyla Davis RBI single followed by a Tanya Windle RBI single would plate a pair and give the Sun Devils a lead.

After a scoreless third, ASU threatened in the fourth but stranded a runner on third. In the bottom of the frame, a Tiana Poole walk and steal would put a runner on for ISU. Karlee Ford then ripped a two-out grounder to the ASU second baseman who made a great paly to get to it but then botched the throw to first, allowing Poole to score from second and tie things up.

After the Sun Devils went three up, three down in the fifth, ISU plated two in the bottom of the frame. A leadoff strikeout was followed by a pair of ISU singles to put runners on the corners. Two batters later and ISU had the bases juiced with a pair of outs and Isabelle Nosan at the plate. She belted a double into left to score both Allen and Jessie Clemons and gave ISU a 4-2 lead.

With just six outs left, ASU felt the urgency and scored a third in the sixth. With runners on the corners and two outs, Tanya Windle notched her second RBI of the game on her second hit, singling to second base to make it 4-3.

ISU was held scoreless in the sixth and the game flipped to the seventh with the Sun Devils looking to even things up. A leadoff strikeout was followed by a pair of single and all the sudden ASU was in business. The very next batter, Ayden Allen, grounded to Trice at second who flipped to Clemons at short for one out who then gunned to Malott at first to close things out with a 4-6-3 double play.

Friday G1 Notes
Home Runs
Iowa State: N/A
Arizona State: N/A

WP – Lauren Schurman (6-9): 2.2 IP, 4 hits, 1 run (0 earned), 0 walks, 1 strikeout
SV – N/A
LP – Kenzie Brown (12-3): 6.0 IP, 6 hits, 4 runs (3 earned), 3 walks, 12 strikeouts

Arizona State 18, Iowa State 4 (5 Inn.)
Things went sideways quickly in game two for ISU, as three errors in the first two frames led to eight unearned runs as the Cyclones found themselves in a 8-1 hole just two frames in.

Angelina Allen had three hits in the game, accounting for 38 percent of the teams production at the plate. Isabelle Nosan collected her first homer of the season and ran her tally on the day to five RBI on a pair of hits with one run scored.

Four Cyclones saw the circle in game two, with Abby Huhn (3-2) earning the start. She allowed seven runs, but all would go down as unearned. Jaiden Ralston, Sami Potvin and Aziza Rodriguez all saw time in relief. For Rodriguez, it was her first appearance in about a month.

How it Happened
The first two Sun Devils to step to the plate would reach via error, as it set the tone for the ballgame. Five hits later, and ASU had six runs in one inning, taking a commanding lead early on.

ISU’s Sereniti Trice led off being hit by a pitch and Clemons followed her up with a single to put a pair on. Allen then stepped into the box and blaster a single over the left fielder’s head to score Trice and make it 6-1.

Another error cost ISU in the second, as the Sun Devils score two more.

ASU loaded the bases in the third and a sac fly and single would score all three to make it 11-1.

In the bottom of the third, Allen led the Cyclones off with a double into right, while Johnson followed with a single through the right side to put runners on the corners. Nosan then just cleared the left field fence with a line drive homer to make it 11-4.

The Sun Devils would plate seven more runs over the final two frames to earn an 18-4 win and even the series at one apiece.

Friday G2 Notes
Home Runs
Iowa State: Isabelle Nosan (1)
Arizona State: Ashleigh Mejia (9), Grace Molitor (2), Takyla Davis (2)

WP – Julianne Tipton (5-1): 1.2 IP, 1 hit, 0 runs, 0 walks, 1 strikeout
SV – N/A
LP – Abby Huhn (3-2): 1.1 IP, 6 hits, 7 runs (0 earned), 0 walks, 1 strikeout

Arizona State and Iowa State will wrap up the weekend series tomorrow, Saturday 29, at 1 pm and game action will be streamed live on ESPN+.

As a reminder, admission to the Cyclone Sports Complex is free.